Regardless of your opinions on pyschic ability, you can’t deny that Derek Acorah is a pretty chill bro. He was the best thing about Most Haunted. A silver fox, with his Liverpuddlian tones he calmed the demons and soothed the nervous. Plus, his moments of terrifying posession were golden headstones in the graveyard that is TV. When I die the first place I’m going is round Acorah’s. Well, after chasing down some celebs and learning how to move stuff - cue Ghost style lesson on the Northern Line with a hairy goggle-eyed spirit.
My dark day isn’t scheduled for another 63 years, so I made do with a phone call.
INTERVIEW: ELIZABETH SANKEY
Hey Derek, how are you doing? What are you up to at the moment?
I am constructing a new coy carp pond in my garden. It’s looking really brilliant. The fish are really happy, I am really happy.
Great. So when did you first realise you had a gift?
I was six years old and saw a spirit person in my grandma’s house. I raced down the stairs and told my mum, while my gran pulled out an old tin box. She tipped the contents on the table and there were photographs I’d never seen before. Amongst them were pictures of the man I had seen in spirit form – my granddad - who had died before I was born. Gran had a grin on her face because she was a medium before me, and was happy I was the first male medium in the family.
You were a footballer at Liverpool FC?
I was. I signed with them first at 13, and then at 15 and a half I signed as an apprentice professional on the staff. At 17 I was an all time pro, but I couldn’t break into the first team. Quite simply, I wasn’t good enough – the team then was so strong – Ian St John, Roger Hunt, etc.
Did you have your gift all the way through that?
Yeah. I didn’t suppress it, I just pushed it back. I would still have inclinations when I met people, and I’d tell them I was a psychic. Some people warmed to that, and some didn’t. The player’s wives loved it, they were always asking me for readings.
Is it something you can control?
There is an opening and closing. If you stay open to spiritual influences they will come at you 24/7 and you will have no peace, no calm.
How do the spirits manifest themselves?
I have developed my clairvoyance and clairaudience. I see spirits, and hear them very clearly when they make the effort to contact.
You worked with a lot of celebrities on Most Haunted, who had the best reaction?
Paul O Grady. He was moaning, “Derek, Derek I need to go to the toilet”, and grabbing my hands. Very funny. An actor and actress from Emmerdale came on, and both said they had very sceptical and cynical minds. But the girl was tapped on the shoulder, while the actor was pushed up against the wall. I saw that happen, and he said, “Man can we cut the cameras, because that was the strangest thing to ever happen to me, and I know it was real”. They said they were going away from the programme completely convinced they’d had – as she said “a spiritual happening” and as he said “an alarming fright” - by something they couldn’t see. Vic Reeves was wonderful too, lovely. I was talking about the spirit person in one room, while in the other room Vic saw a shadowy figure in front of him, and then it bolted. So Vic ran out and chased it up the stairs, “You bugger, you beggar, argh I’ve found you”. He said he’d jammed him in the room, but the spirit disappeared.
Do any spirits stay with you or re-visit you?
No. That is not allowed. That is attachment, I wouldn’t allow attachment.
How do you prevent that?
Well you talk to them. You tell them, “as of now I am closing myself down to every spiritual influence, and that means you. You belong in the spirit realm, go back to your homeland now”.
Have you ever had any resistance?
Oh yes, many many times. There are stubborn obstinate spirits, who were no doubt like that in life, and on top of that stubborn nature some of them are cruel, and will show that in their expressions as a spirit. I’ve had many a tussle. But luckily my guide Sam is always with me, and if he thinks I can’t get to the person he takes over. Because he’s a spirit, they have to listen to him.
How did you find Sam?
My gran sat me down and talked to me about every facet of the spiritual world including spirit guides. A guide is designated to you from birth, everyone has one. Once you’re ready to go forward and do spiritual work, your guide will let himself be known to you.
What’s he like?
He’s 5’ 5”, quite slim, lean looking. Black skin, because he was an Ethiopian. He is a very unassuming sort of person, very quiet. But he had the gifts like myself in his time. He used to walk into villages and tell them things - whether the crops would yield – he was an oracle.
When did you meet him?
I was 17, just back from my football training. I sat on the sofa reading a magazine, then suddenly from nowhere I heard a voice saying my name four times. I thought I was going mad. The voice was speaking in English, but was of accent, if you like. He said he was my guardian and my guide - I just bolted off the sofa, and raced up into my bedroom. He talked to me again and told me that when I went to rest at night he would show me things I’d never seen before. I didn’t want to go to sleep because I knew what would happen – this dream scape of a foreign place, seeing people I’d never met before. He took me back, in thought, to a previous time when I knew him, when I was an Ethiopian child. I had been re-incarnated.
So he wasn’t re-incarnated?
No the plan was that he would stay with me, guiding me. In the past three years I have been told that when I go over to that side of the life, the roles will be reversed, which I am really excited about.
Why are you so excited?
I think it’s unbelievable, to get the opportunity to guide a lovely soul like Sam in whatever he is meant to do.
Do you think we all have inert psychic potential?
Yes. Everyone has that potential. If you want to open up that side of your nature, you have to go about it in the right way – develop it in a safe, responsible manner. There are such things called circles of development, where a medium will take on 7 or 8 people, and sit with them once or twice a week. And it could go on for a number of years before that person develops, but the eventuality is that they do.
Have you ever met any dead famous people?
I was doing a live demonstration on Hollywood boulevard and lo and behold – I couldn’t believe it – appearing right next to me was Frank Sinatra. His family were in the audience and he told me things. He said he was fine, he was safe and everything was hunky dory.
